Rich culture, delicious food and stories from Afghanistan

04/25/2014

AFGHAN INSPIRED PADRON CHILI AND WALNUT SAUCE - CHUTNEY

By Humaira

Jeja (my mom) has a reputation of being an excellent cook within the Bay Area Afghan community. I wouldn’t dare share any recipe that wouldn’t pass muster with her. In this blog I share my family's home cooking recipes for your Western kitchen. The blog is my way to educate the world about Afghan people and the delicious food of Afghanistan. It's also my effort to keep in touch with my cultural heritage as I raise my two daughters in San Francisco, California.

My research for this blog has not only strenghtened my relationship with my mom, it has also given me great appreciation and understanding of Afghan people.

What has been most surprising to me is how food brings people across all cultures together.

Once I was at my daughter's class pot-luck -- I introduced myself to the math teacher. She looked at my name tag and said,

I am alway thrilled a to meet a reader but, the ones that take my recipes and make it their own is even more exciting to me.

In this blog the recipes have been tested by Afghans and non Afghans. I always retain the delicious flavors of Afghan food but simplify the cooking so it's accessible to experienced and novice cooks.

Padron chilis are small and relatively mild. I used them in this recipe to create my version of an Afghan chili sauce, a condiment commonly served with kebabs or as an accompaniment to other side dishes. I don’t particularly like super spicy foods, but I love a little zing of pepper alongside milder dishes. This sauce is designed to brighten the flavors of rice, meat or Qorma dishes without overpowering the food. Use sparingly.

Afghan Inspired Spicy Chili Sauce

Chutney

2 pints padron chilis (around 22 peppers), ends off and seeds removed

3 cloves peeled garlic

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons roughly chopped walnuts

½ cup white vinegar

Put the peppers, garlic, salt, black pepper, walnuts, and vinegar in the food processor and use the pulse button to grind the peppers and mix the ingredients. Pulse a couple of times, wipe the sides, check the consistency and pulse more. The sauce looks best and ends up with a pleasing crunch if you don’t over blend it. If you prefer things really spicy, use a hotter chili like jalapenos.

Serve in a small bowl and use a small amount to eat with whatever you are making for dinner.

Paykai Jan - You are so right, the chutney with cilantro is very delicious and I think most people don't add nuts to that. It's basically cilantro, green onions, vinegar, salt and black pepper. I would love to get your recipe for this. Thank you for your continued comments. - Humaira

Soraya Jan, you hit the nail in the head. Yes, there are many ways to make a dish. I am in Kabul right now and my cousin's wife made the most gorgeous and delicious bolani for me. The dough was paper think, a little flakey and the bolani just melt in my mouth. Next time I told her I want to watch her make the dough. Thanks for reading our blog - Humaira

Sheikh Jan, Thank you for your great comments. When we started this blog we hoped that young Afghans like yourself would find it helpful and use it. So, it warms my heart that we are helping you bring a little piece of your culture to your distant educational institution. Yes, we did shop around a book proposal but publishers are not interested in Afghan culture or food, war stories are a bigger seller - Humaira

I love your blog. I'm an Afghan-American college student in a small town far from my mom's cooking. Often when I ask her over skype how to make certain dishes that I'm craving, she says "I don't know how many teaspoons, just try a couple and see what happens." Since I've found your blog, I've finally been able to make some of my favorite dishes! You should consider writing a book for my generation of Afghanis :)

While it is important to know traditional Afghan cuisine and to have a firm grip on classic recipes, it is equally important to be creative. There can be many variations on the simple coriandre (cilantro) chutney and various ways of making Afghan pickles. Indeed even before Afghans were scattered around the world as refugees, recipes differed greatly from one family to another.

You are doing just fine. Continue the good work. Even the great American Apple Pie has numerous recipes and each family has a different recipe for the simple hamburger!

I personally would like to see coverage of Afghan regional and ethnic cuisine-